Although we spend a major part of our lives sleeping, we understand surprisingly little about sleep and dreaming. In this course we will discuss recent advances made in the field of neuroscience of sleep. Course topics include basic neurobiology of sleep (what is sleep, how is it regulated) as well as specialized discussions of sleep-related learning and memory investigated in different model systems. You will get familiar with these topics through a combination of in-depth review sessions, in-class activities and student presentations of the primary literature. In the laboratory section of this course, we will design and execute a complete, novel, experiment with a small group. We will investigate sleep, learning and memory in different model organisms. The project groups will write up their results in a research article to be submitted to the undergraduate journal "Impulse". Assignments are given to hone presentation and writing skills and to give students the opportunity to explore their favorite topic in more detail. In this Maurer Public Speaking Intensive course, we will build towards presenting in front of a larger audience through multiple public speaking assignments.

Units: 1.25

Max Enrollment: 12

Prerequisites: NEUR 100. Not open to First-Years.

Instructor: Gobes

Distribution Requirements: LAB - Natural and Physical Sciences Laboratory; EC - Epistemology and Cognition; NPS - Natural and Physical Sciences

Typical Periods Offered: Spring

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring

Notes: Ann E. Maurer '51 Speaking Intensive Course.